Olmert, Abbas talk about peace issues

No details were discussed, both sides say

August 29, 2007|By Joel Greenberg, Tribune foreign correspondent

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Tuesday and discussed the core issues of a final peace settlement in broad terms but did not go into details, officials from both sides said.

The latest in a series of meetings between the two leaders came ahead of a visit here next month by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and a U.S.-sponsored Middle East conference expected in November.

Abbas has been pushing for negotiations on the central issues of a final peace agreement: borders, Palestinian refugees, the future of Jerusalem and the fate of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Olmert has objected to such talks, saying they are premature.

Tuesday's discussions were general in nature, officials said.

"They spoke about fundamental issues that are essential to reach the goal of two states for two people," said David Baker, a spokesman in Olmert's office. He declined to elaborate.

Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Abbas who attended the meeting with Olmert, said, "These talks did not reach the level of details." He added that no documents had been exchanged.

Israeli officials say Olmert is proposing a broad "declaration of principles" that would be agreed on at the international gathering in November. But Abbas warned Monday that the conference would be a "waste of time" if it did not deal with the specific core issues of a final peace deal.

Israeli commentators say that Olmert, weakened by heavy public criticism of his handling of an inconclusive war last summer against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, is reluctant to enter negotiations on controversial "final status" issues with the Palestinians. Such talks could draw fierce criticism from the political right and cause a split in Olmert's Cabinet, which includes a far-right party.

The Palestinian leadership is split between the West Bank, where Abbas has appointed a caretaker government, and the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is in control after a violent takeover in June.

Israeli officials have spoken of improved chances for progress in diplomacy and in security relations with Abbas' administration in the West Bank. They pointed to an incident Monday in which Palestinian security forces extricated an Israeli officer from an angry mob in Jenin after he accidentally drove into the city.

Olmert thanked Abbas for the prompt action of his forces, and the two leaders also discussed ways to strengthen Abbas' forces in the West Bank so they could formally resume security control in Palestinian cities currently subject to Israeli raids against militants, Baker said.

The two leaders decided to convene a committee of Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and American security officials to combat arms smuggling from Egypt to the Gaza Strip, and Olmert said he would soon present a plan to permit greater freedom of movement between cities in the West Bank, where travel is severely restricted by Israeli roadblocks, Baker said.